Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ALSO-RAN

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

connect today's word to others: Let's say we're holding a newspaper, reading an article about a horse race, and we read this very last sentence: "Longfellow also ran." Aw, poor Longfellow. He lost the race, plus the papers have just barely acknowledged that he was in it. He's an also-ran. (He probably feels like Gretchen Weiners when she doesn't get any candy grams.) Also-ran first showed up in 1895, in a Denver newspaper, which is fitting because the word is so American! These words, too, have American origins:    foo______, meaning "gaudy stuff, or a showy display or noisy fuss;"       and t__y, meaning "cool, trendy, stylish, swanky, and fashionable." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "ALSO-RAN" An also-ran is a dog or horse that loses a race or anyone who doesn't win or isn't successful. It's an adjective, too: also-ran people and things are unsuccessful, or not victorious. Pronunciation: ALL so ran Part of speech: Both a noun ("he's an also-ran," "we went from also-ran to district champions") and an adjective ("an also-ran team," "this also-ran company"). Other forms: You can make the noun plural, "also-rans," but it sounds ugly. How to use it: "Also-ran" is a casual word with a slightly negative tone. Let's look first at how to use the noun. You might call someone an also-ran, or refer to some team, group, company, or country as an also-ran. Or, you might say that someone has the look, the luck, the attitude, or the performance of an also-ran. Or talk about people being among the also-rans, being described as also-rans, being dismissed as also-rans, picking or betting on or investing in also-rans, etc. (I apologize if it grates on your ears when I pluralize this word to talk about "also-rans." It's correct to do that, but you can avoid it if you think it sounds bad.) Let's check out the adjective, too. Talk about also-ran candidates, applicants, and competitors; also-ran teams, groups, companies, and countries; also-ran products, services, priorities, publications, etc. examples: Only in the movies can you leap from also-ran to champion in the space of a montage. It was a big-fish-little-pond lesson: with our high school's Future Business Leaders of America, I won a district-wide competition, but at the state level I didn't even place among the also-rans. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "also-ran" means when you can explain it without saying "nonstarter" or "failed candidate." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "_____ turned _____ into an also-ran." Example: "Google turned Yahoo! into an also-ran." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Our game this month is called "Quirky Keepers."  We’ll play with a bunch of bizarre, oddly specific words—words that deserve a place in our vocabulary, even though they're too wacky and rare to explore in full issues of Make Your Point. (I found most of these words in Charles Harrington Elster’s outrageously entertaining book, There’s A Word For It: A Grandiloquent Guide to Life.) Our goal as we play is to squirrel the words away in our memories. So, in each issue, we’ll check out a word; in the following issue, I’ll give you a new example of that word, and you see if you can recall it. We’ll start with short words and work our way up to the six-, seven-, and eight-syllable doozies. See if you can recall the word from the previous issue: As a teenager, Ryan was 6'4" and thin as a noodle, and he often tripped over his own long feet. What noun described him back then? (It's four syllables.) See the answer by scrolling all the way down. Today, let’s check out the word "arctophilist." From Greek roots meaning "bear" and "lover," an arctophilist is someone who collects teddy bears. Remember, in the next issue I’ll give you an example of an arctophilist, without mentioning the word—and you’ll try to recall it. That'll help you keep it in your memory. review today's word: 1. A close opposite of ALSO-RAN is A. VYING. B. TRIUMPHANT. C. SHELLACKING. 2. I _____ with the finesse of an also-ran; _____. A. choose avocados .. they're full of spots and 90% pit B. fend off scammers .. the way they approach me is predictable at this point C. drew the highest-scoring tiles .. it's like the Scrabble gods were smiling on me Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answer to the game question: He was a galligantous: a person who's tall, gangly, and awkward. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. A